Highway 1 Landslide
Last week was a rainy one across much of California. Dry weather that ran through December and most of January finally broke. And break it did, with a veritable "Atmospheric River" dumping precipitation across the state. When heavy rain follows an extended dry period it creates risk of mud slides as parched ground is not as able to absorb the rain as well. The risk is especially severe in areas that have experienced wildfire recently. Fire kills the grasses, shrubs, and trees whose roots help hold the soil together; moreover it scorches the ground itself making it even more unable to absorb water.
All of these factors came together last week along California's remote central coast. Water gushing down a rain-swollen creek overwhelmed the land around it and washed away a section of California Highway.
Example coverage: CNN.com article, 30 Jan 2021 tells the basics; San Francisco Chronicle article 29 Jan 2021 has great, high-resolution pictures plus an explainer about what an "Atmospheric River" is.
Landslides are not uncommon on California's rugged Central Coast. In 2017 a massive slide covered almost a half mile of the road. Repairs were completed in 2018, routing the road around the new coastline. Just driving on Highway 1 you can see evidence in the roadway of numerous repairs to fix slides and washout damage. Because of the history of slides authorities closed the road to thru traffic last week- thus nobody was injured when a large section of road went crashing into the ocean.
BTW, why does anyone care about a narrow road in a remote place? Well, aside from the tiny number of people for whom it's the only way in or out of the places they live and work, the Central Coast is an amazing scenic tourist area. Check out some of my roadside pictures from a road trip in 2019 here and here.
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/26509.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]
All of these factors came together last week along California's remote central coast. Water gushing down a rain-swollen creek overwhelmed the land around it and washed away a section of California Highway.
Example coverage: CNN.com article, 30 Jan 2021 tells the basics; San Francisco Chronicle article 29 Jan 2021 has great, high-resolution pictures plus an explainer about what an "Atmospheric River" is.
Landslides are not uncommon on California's rugged Central Coast. In 2017 a massive slide covered almost a half mile of the road. Repairs were completed in 2018, routing the road around the new coastline. Just driving on Highway 1 you can see evidence in the roadway of numerous repairs to fix slides and washout damage. Because of the history of slides authorities closed the road to thru traffic last week- thus nobody was injured when a large section of road went crashing into the ocean.
BTW, why does anyone care about a narrow road in a remote place? Well, aside from the tiny number of people for whom it's the only way in or out of the places they live and work, the Central Coast is an amazing scenic tourist area. Check out some of my roadside pictures from a road trip in 2019 here and here.
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/26509.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]